USW wants workers screened for lung cancer
ERJ staff report (DS)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania -- The US-based United Steelworkers (USW) has issued an urgent call for a strategy meeting about occupational lung cancer medical screening. Last week, the US-based National Cancer Institute released the results of a 10 year national study involving over 53,000 people that demonstrated that annual medical screening with a low dose helical chest CT scan lowered mortality due to lung cancer by 20 percent.
Work-related lung cancer claims 10,000 to 20,000 workers annually and is the leading occupational cancer in the US The landmark study is the first ever to prove that a screening method now exists that detects lung cancer at an early stage, one that permits early treatment and cure. The results were so convincing that the NCI halted the study early in order to inform participants and the general public about the effectiveness of applying low dose chest CT scans for the detection and treatment of lung cancer.
The USW currently sponsors the largest occupational lung cancer screening program in the United States, apart from the NCI trial. It is the CT scan-based Early Lung Cancer Detection Program and is co-sponsored by Queens College (City University of New York), and the Atomic Trades & Labor Council.
This is an external link and should open in a new window. If the window does not appear, please check your pop-up blocking software. ERJ is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Press release from USW
This article is only available to subscribers - subscribe today
Subscribe for unlimited access. A subscription to European Rubber Journal includes:
- Every issue of European Rubber Journal (6 issues) including Special Reports & Maps.
- Unlimited access to ERJ articles online
- Daily email newsletter – the latest news direct to your inbox
- Access to the ERJ online archive